


hit me like a beam of light

by sweatshirt



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Bisexual Character, F/F, Gen, Genderbending, Girl!Lucas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-06-05
Packaged: 2018-07-12 11:54:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7102183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweatshirt/pseuds/sweatshirt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maya Hart + Lucille Friar + a campfire + five years of unecessary pining = the love story of the century, according to their friends. </p><p>(Or, a Girl Meets World AU in which the Core Four are all genderswapped except for Maya.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	hit me like a beam of light

**Author's Note:**

> (In case it's unclear: Maya is Maya, Kismet is Farkle, Ryder is Riley, Lucy is Lucas, Charlotte is Charlie Gardner.)
> 
> I used some dialogue from the show in parts, I hope it's clear that I didn't write those lines. (I wish I had. They're adorable.) Also, the title is from the song "I Always Knew" by The Vaccines. 
> 
> I also have a tumblr where I obsess over these kidiots @ rangerlucas.tumblr.com.

“Uh. Maya?”

Lucy was standing in the doorway of Mr. Matthews’ classroom after the other students had rushed out to lunch. “Can I talk to you for a second?” She looked nervous and small, despite her height (everything _was_ bigger in Texas).

“Sure,” Maya said. She glanced behind her to the mass of students walking down the stairs, hoping Ryder wouldn’t freak out if she left him alone for a minute. He probably would.

“You and Ryder seem kind of… close,” Lucy said tentatively. Maya automatically knew what she was implying. She’d spent at least five years assuring people that Ryder was not her boyfriend, like _really._

“We’re best friends,” Maya replied casually, starting to turn around.

“That’s it?”

Maya raised her eyebrows and nodded. “Go get him, Cowgirl,” she drawled, lightly flicking Lucy on the arm.

Lucy’s mouth dropped. “Oh, no—that’s not what I was…” Her voice trailed off. Maya was already halfway down the hallway.

“Cowgirl. Huh.”

 

* * *

 

“Oh my god, Maya, she is the cutest girl ever.” Ryder stood at the cafeteria table, holding his lunch tray. He was too distracted by gushing about Lucy to Maya to realize he hadn’t actually taken a bite of his sandwich, or sat down.

“Eat, Rydes.” Ryder slid next to Maya on the bench, still staring off into the distance with a dopey expression on his face.

“I think I love her,” he sighed. Maya didn’t know if love, the sappy, grown up kind of love, was possible as a thirteen year old, but she wasn’t about to kill Ryder’s dream. “Wow,” she told him. “That’s amazing.”

“Do you know that she wants to be a vet?”

“I think I heard about that one… a few times.”

Ryder blushed. He ran a hand through his thick, dark hair. “Oops. Still. She’s the best human being I have _ever_ met.”

Maya had to agree, in a way. Lucy was objectively, an above average looking girl, with good cheekbones, good grades, and a good moral compass. That kind of person got under Maya’s skin like no asshole could.

For the millionth time in her short life, Maya wished she understood what Ryder saw.

 

* * *

 

“Maya, if there’s no good kids out here to notice, then what’s the point?” Lucy still had that annoying ‘good Southern girl’ expression on her face. No amount of war paint could hide a Huckleberry.

Maya grabbed Lucy’s collar and pulled the taller girl into her reach.

“You questioning my leadership, Hopalong?” Lucy’s eyes were wide, but she looked more amused than nervous. As hard as she tried, Maya could never really scare Lucy. And she’d tried. Cowgirl was immune to her certified Maya Hart scare tactics. Maybe because she was 6 inches taller and twice as strong.

“Okay, these names you’re calling me are really killing my street cred.”

“Aw, and what would you like me to call you?”

“I’d like you to call me Mad Dog.”

Maya laughed, a genuine laugh. She loved being like this—all up in Lucy’s face, seeing her pupils shift back and forth with every line Maya said. Their faces heating up slightly, their bodies inches away. It felt weirdly natural.

“You don’t seem like a Mad Dog to me.”

“And what do I seem like to you?” A definite smirk was creeping onto Lucy’s face.

“You know that lamb that Mary had?”

 

* * *

 

 

The eighth grade yearbook messed up everything. Those dumb awards like “cutest couple” and “most likely to be in a boyband” had persuaded Kismet and Ryder to change their images, to fit what people wanted. Kismet had switched her astronomy t-shirts and crazy smarts for a skirt and valley girl. Ryder... who even knew. He looked like a One Direction member trying to be a part of a hardcore band.

Well, three could play at that game. Maya had only put on the wig to show Ryder the ridiculousness of the situation and hopefully get her best friends back. No other motive. It got weird immediately. Lucy stared at her during the entire class, the way she used to look at Ryder. “Hi,” Maya said, imitating that goofy voice Ryder had around cute girls.

“Hey,” Lucy replied with a smile. Maya almost rolled her eyes before she remembered Ryder never did that. She had to stay in character. But, jeez. Lucy was so in love with Ryder, the idea of Ryder, that a brunette wig on a girl would inspire that same dopey dreamy gaze.

Topanga was right. Being in Ryder’s shoes—well, his brunette quiff—let Maya see things. She used to doubt that Lucy’s feelings were as deep as Ryder’s, because nobody feelings about anything were ever as deep as Ryder’s. But she could see that Lucy was so in love with the idea of Ryder.

Wait. The idea of Ryder. Lucy was in love with the idea of a stable boyfriend, the idea of a picket fence and some little Matthews-Friar tots. And Ryder was the same way. They loved ideas. They could never love those people.

Maya took off the wig and lay her head on the desk. She had definitely said too much of that out loud.  
-

“I didn’t think you liked Lucy,” Ryder said, pulling Maya aside. They stood near the refreshments stand, the midday Texas sun on their necks.

“I don’t like her,” Maya scoffed. “I don’t like your goodie-two-shoes, straight girlfriend.” Okay, she definitely did. Maya wasn’t dumb. She had stopped denying that it was a “girl crush” when she felt her heart burn at the thought of Lucy getting hurt. But that seemed like pointless information to tell Ryder, or Lucy, or anyone, because the odds of anything good coming from the confession were zero.

Kismet could totally do the calculations and confirm that.

“Even as a friend?” Ryder raised his eyebrow. Maya tried to ignore his stare. It was too hot for this type of dumb, feelings conversation.

Maya’s feelings were simple. She hated Lucy. Also, Lucy was great and she really liked her, but ‘they’ would never happen and Maya loved her best friend too much to try anything.

Maya sighed. “I tolerate Lucy as a friend. Behind all the Cowgirl-ness, she’s an okay person. I guess. That’s why I said I didn't want her to die on that animal.”

That weird look from Ryder wouldn’t stop, even when Maya tried to get away. “I’m not trying to force you into anything here. But I think you care about her more than you say. And even if you can’t tell me, you might want to tell her.”

Their gazes both landed on Lucy in her riding clothes, about to ride Tombstone the stallion.

It had taken nearly two years, but Maya knew she could now see what Ryder saw. Maybe even more.

 

* * *

 

 

Despite Ryder’s concerned prodding, no secrets were spilled at the rodeo. Even after Lucy stepped off the horse, unscathed, and Maya threw her arms around Lucy, the only admittance of feelings was “I’m glad you’re not dead.”

There was a campfire afterwards, and there was almost a moment. It slipped out of Maya’s hands before she could hold on it. Ryder joked about some dumb rumors going around school, ones that started all the way back at the Sadie Hawkins dance when Lucy and Maya had ended up going together. Without dates.

And Maya had changed the subject, and the conversation had almost ended at that.

Almost.

The others eventually left them alone, probably because of Ryder’s weird Parent Trap plan.

And there was a moment, when there were thousands of stars in the sky, and the fire was dying.

“What did you want to tell me?” Lucy asked. Her voice was a bit confused, and Maya couldn’t blame the poor girl; being told by Ryder Matthews that you’re actually his sister is a confusing way to be broken up with.

“Nothing. Ryder misunderstands things sometimes,” Maya replied vaguely.

Lucy’s brow furrowed. She scooted closer to Maya on the log, so that their bodies were nearly touching. And she had no idea how distracting that was. “What was it?” Her voice was softer now.

“Can we just look at the fire?” Maya pretended that her blouse sleeve was fascinating, avoiding those green eyes. She could feel them boring a hole through her skull, and it was too much to handle. “Stop,” she snapped at Lucy.

Lucy looked away, as told, and Maya sighed.

“Ryder thinks I like you,” Maya blurted out. “I don’t. Just to state the obvious.”

“You don’t?” There was almost disappointment there. The response was lacking in any horrible judgment, which Maya had expected. She was confused. So Maya responded in the only way she knew how: getting a rise out of Lucy. Getting all up in Lucy’s face so she’d leave it be.

“No, I don’t like you. If I did, I’d come out and say it. But I don’t, so what I say instead is darlin'—”

There were suddenly hands on Maya’s neck, gripping it tightly, and Lucy’s eyes were just inches away from Maya’s own. Their lips were impossibly close. Lucy hesitated, almost making that leap before swerving away.

“Sorry,” she said, biting her lip.

Maya shook her head. “Why would you do that?”

“I… don’t know,” Lucy said. At least she was honest. Always so honest.

A moment passed.

“I do like you,” Maya said softly, almost a whisper. She sighed. “Of course I like you. You’re great.”

Lucy’s mouth was open, no doubt catching flies. She tried to put her arm on Maya’s shoulder in reassurance, but Maya stood up. She couldn’t deal with pity touching from some slightly confused straight girl who had just learned Maya’s deepest secret.

“If you ever figure out why you did that, let me know. Bye, Annie Oakley.”

With that, Maya left Lucy alone with her mild existential crisis.

 

* * *

 

She came out to Ryder second, technically. She cried a little and Ryder mussed her hair and told Maya he’d always love her no matter who she loved. It was the exact kind of heartwarming sappiness that made Maya cry even harder.

She laughed despite the tears.

Maya told Topanga and Cory next. She knew that they were open minded about these things. Just last week, Augusta had come home from second grade talking about marrying a girl in her class, and they had given her a Ring Pop as a proposal ring. When she told them, the older Matthews were quiet about it, which was the best kind of response. They both wrapped her in a bear hug.

She didn’t know how to tell her mom, and Maya felt a little horrible about that. She knew Katy would be understanding and amazing about the whole “I like girls” thing, but she didn’t want to burden her mom with this information. So it took until the beginning of tenth grade, and Maya’s first real kiss with a girl for Maya to work up the courage to explicitly tell Katy. Maya’s fingers drummed again the kitchen table. Her mom rambled on about some boring house-related subject, and she just had to blurt it out.

“Mom, uh… have you heard the word bisexual?”

 

* * *

 

 

High school was hard. Maybe not harder. There was a GSA, which she’d never even heard of back at John Quincy Adams, and a decent amount of cute boys and girls and people to date. And Maya still had her squad, Ryder and Kismet and Zay and Smackle and Lucy.

But there were also rude guys who threw fits when Maya rejected them. They would accuse her of leaving them for a girl, and never consider that maybe they were bad kissers or assholes or Nickelback fans. Of course, Lucy threatening to beat up these boys whenever she found out didn’t exactly help dispel their assumption.

“And no, I’m not her girlfriend, I just don’t like bigots,” she growled as she stared one down by the school entrance. Maya interrupted the little meeting before it turned violent. 

"Step away, Lucy. Nick's just an asshole."

"Your friend is fucking terrifying," Nick said. He glared at Maya and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

"Don't hurt people. You're not my white knight. White knightess."

Lucy laughed, but then her smile faded. "Sorry. I _know_ you can stand up for yourself, I just hear guys say things and I get... Ugh. I never hurt them, I wouldn't do that."

A small part of her appreciated that Lucy thought Maya worth saving.

A larger part of her feared that.

 

* * *

 

Lucy stood in front of Maya’s locker, already dressed in her field hockey uniform. She was the captain this year. “Do you want to hang out and study with me tomorrow?”

“I’m not taking the SAT in October of junior year, Bucky McBoing Boing. I’m not a nerd like you.”

Lucy smirked.

“Actually, I was talking about studying for our huge chemistry test. But, fine, if you think of me that way, I’ll find someone else.” Lucy put her hands to her mouth, beginning to yell out “Kismet!”

Maya rolled her eyes. She grabbed Lucy’s wrist, and Lucy allowed herself to be dragged closer into Maya’s radius. “Yes, I will study with you. And you know why? Because you’re an overachieving nerd who will .”

In the history of the universe, nobody had ever smiled more at being called an overachieving nerd than Lucy Friar.

(The “study” date involved more terrible puns about the periodic table and accidental brushes of hands than actual studying.

“Did you hear oxygen went on a date with potassium?”

Maya groaned.

“It went OK,” Lucy said with an entirely straight face. She waited for a response. “Like, O and K.”

They both failed the test come that Monday.)

 

* * *

 

Maya _didn’t_ fail the actual SAT, surprisingly. She got a score in the seventy fifth percentile, and an overexcited Ryder actually kissed her on the mouth at the news. It was a slightly traumatizing experience for both of them.

Lucy gave her a (much more emotionally manageable) high five when Maya shared the news at Topanga’s. 

Their hands lingered too long. Lucy quickly pulled away, like she always did. 

A few hours later, Smackle and Zay had fallen asleep on top of each other in the café corner. Kismet and Ryder had headed out on a double date with some girl Charlotte and some guy David. She didn't even know who was dating who in that situation. Maya never understood anything about Kismet and Ryder's relationship. But, like before, Lucy and Maya were left alone, in their own little bubble. She remembered that night in Austin, over three years ago.

“Thanks for tutoring me, Sundance,” Maya muttered. Nobody was around to hear her going soft.

“Well, it was no problem. You’re special, Maya. I want you to be happy.” Lucy’s Texas drawl, nearly hidden from four and a half years of living in the city, was returning. Her face was almost too genuine. It made Maya uncomfortable. And a little breathless. For once, she couldn't think of a Southern Belle joke to diffuse the tension.

They were both quiet, but their eyes were locked on one another for the rest of the night.

 

* * *

 

“You look good,” Lucy said. She had taken her cap off and her hair was tied back in a ponytail. Maya smirked. She wanted to say ‘you do too’, but kept her mouth shut.

“I guess navy blue is my color,” Maya eventually said.

“Every color is your color.” God. Only Lucy would say such a cheesy pickup line with so much conviction.

“Shut up, Cowgirl,” Maya said. But she stepped closer.

Lucy’s hands wrapped around on Maya’s neck, close to her chin. Her nails brushed Maya’s skin.

“Make me,” she mouthed, grinning like an idiot. Maya rolled her eyes, but she knew there was a grin on her face as well.

They only looked at each other for a second before Lucy’s lips were pushed against her own, and their bodies were pressed impossibly close together. Maya kissed back immediately, standing on tiptoes and holding on to Lucy’s shoulders like they were her only source of balance. Five minutes until the graduation ceremony, a voice in the back of Maya’s head whispered, and she told it to shut up. Nothing mattered right now except Lucy Friar kissing her. And Lucy's toned arms moving around her waist.

They eventually pulled away, after what must have been much longer than five minutes. Maya’s internal clock was screwy. Lucy untied her ponytail and shook out her light brown hair. She then put on her graduation cap, clearly about to head down to the ceremony in the Abigail Adams auditorium.

Maya wasn’t going to let that happen. She grabbed Lucy, still grinning like an idiot, and kissed her hard again. For good luck. For if their friend group disbanded immediately after graduation and they never saw each other again (though the thought seemed impossible). For all the times they should've kissed.

“Finally!” Kismet called from the doorway. Strands of hair were falling out of her usually neat bun, no doubt the result of a similar rendevouzs with Ryder. Or their new girlfriend Charlotte.

Lucy pulled away from Maya and groaned.

“You ruined the moment,” she told Kismet.

“And we’re all very happy for you lovebirds. But graduation starts in a _moment_ , too,” she said, and darted away.

Maya took Lucy’s hand. It felt different than holding Ryder’s hand; that always reminded Maya of family, comfort, and childhood. When she walked hand in hand with Lucy, ready to become the fifth Clutterbucket to receive a high school diploma, all Maya could think of was her future.

It was gonna be a good one.


End file.
